Love And Baseball The Potter Way

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On Thursday, July 2nd, Potter Baseball hosted the Annapolis Cook-Off at Arnold Ball Park in Arnold, Maryland, a wonderful event that reflected Jeff Potter’s vision and commitment to love and baseball the Potter Way.

Courtesy of Potter Baseball

Courtesy of Potter Baseball

Teach The Children Well.

What makes Potter Baseball so special?  This program utilizes the sport of baseball as the core of its theme and cleverly incorporates other concepts, namely community service, health, respect for self and others and charity work, thereby creating a  lesson in life.  Each summer the program participants gather on weekends to play in tournaments in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.  While on these tours, the team holds fundraisers for charities, collects food for donations and visits historic sites in the locales and supports their causes, such as the Bull Run Warrior Retreat.  Often they experience the hospitality of area teams and their families who offer them accommodations.

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Green Lawn Care for Wild Benefit

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Click for tips on designing pet-friendly yards

Credit: Mr. Tree and Lawn Service, LLC.

The Autumn season marks the start, in many four-season areas of our country, of a time during which yard work becomes crucial.  Often overlooked and neglected, lawn care in the fall can easily improve the condition of the grass and shrubbery, not only for the present season but for the future spring season.  So while you’re all gearing up to treat your grass and landscaping, please do try to keep in mind those four legged friends that occasionally graze the yard, both wild and domesticated.  And if you have children roaming the yards, working to improve your treatment methods is a no-brainer.

There are better options than automatically resorting to chemical fertilizers and other harmful practices. Read More →

Celebration of National Honey Bee Day

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Today, August 16th, marks the annual celebration of National Honey Bee Day, and we here at LGBG are proud to be a part of this observance.  This year’s theme, “sustainable gardening begins with honey bees,” is very appropriate because overall beekeeping is a backyard industry.  Most beekeeping activities occur in municipalities, towns and suburban areas, rather than traditional farms.[1]

HOneyBeeExcFreePic400

The growing popularity of backyard gardening and sustainable gardening has ushered in a greater concern for honeybees by advocates of green living.  More than ever, environmentally consciousness citizens are getting involved in the effort to save honey bees.  As we learn and practice sustainable gardening techniques, we better understand and appreciate the important role that honey bees play as garden pollinators.  Thanks to the political actions of local gardening enthusiasts, several municipalities and townships have removed anti-beekeeping ordinances and restrictive codes.

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Organic CSA in Gambrills is a ‘farm-ily’ affair

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Credit: Jake Linger

Credit: Jake Linger

 

Virginia Gambrell graduated from Salisbury University on Maryland’s Eastern Shore in 2010, assuming she would end up with a career related to her major in Spanish. Translating documents between English and the romance language of Spanish would have been acceptable for Gambrell, but she was hardly excited at the prospect of becoming a 9-to-5 desk jockey.

“That made me really uncomfortable,” she said.

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Slow Food in a Fast Paced World

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Will you shake the hand that feeds you?

Food is essential for our survival as a species. Regardless of your dieting choices, omnivore, vegetarian, vegan, etc., as a living and breathing individual you must replenish your energy by consuming food. So isn’t it best to satisfy your appetite with the essential vitamins and nutrients grown naturally? What about going one-step further and shaking the hand that feeds you?

The news is in, and has been for a while now. Conventional farming methods that utilize GMOs, chemical fertilizers, and practice monoculture are terribly unhealthy and counteractive to improving the environment.

From: http://bif.rs/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/monokultura.jpg

Founded in economics, the monoculture model is a theoretical breakthrough. Business wise it makes complete economic sense. The economy of scale theory states that as you produce more of the same good, it becomes marginally cheaper to produce a single item. Lets say a farmer grows a 100-foot row of broccoli and it costs him/her 10 cents per broccoli plant. If he decided to produce 500 feet of broccoli instead, then they can cut the cost of one plant from 10 cents to, lets just say, 5 cents. Selling the broccoli for the same price as before will yield a higher profit for the farmer. But at what expense?  The expenses are for you and I to bear! To meet their bottom lines, these gigantic agriculture firms reduce the nutrition contained in the plants with fertilizers and pesticides, as well as wasting drums upon drums of oil in simply transporting food across the country, let alone oil use in tractors and other large machinery. This leaves our health and environment in question.

From: http://sd.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/i/keep-calm-there-is-always-a-solution.png

YES! There is a solution! It’s surprisingly simple and right in front of us: eat local; eat food.  Smaller local farms are inherently better for our health and the environment.

Here is why. Smaller farms practice biodiversity, which works to strengthen the healthiness of the plants on the farm so there is little to no need for chemical fertilizers. Buying fruits, veggies, and meat from local farmers also works to boost the local economies and promote small businesses in your area.

But LGBG, say I want to change my food purchasing habits, how do I find local farms to buy groceries??  Well environmental enthusiasts, try starting with Slow Food USA! Slow Food is a global organization that advocates for small local farmers and works to combat harmful farming practices used by large conventional farms. From the website you can easily maneuver around to find Slow Food organizations in your area. There are many links to local chapters where you can find a farm right for you! Not only will they help provide you with farmers to meet but they sponsor many volunteer events that are a whole lot of fun. So I ask one more time, for the improvement of your own health and that of the environment, will you shake the hand that feeds you?From: https://secure3.convio.net/sfusa/images/content/pagebuilder/sfusa_gardensign.p

From: https://secure3.convio.net/sfusa/images/content/pagebuilder/sfusa_gardensign.p

 

 

 

No Thanks To PETA On Parade Float

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English: 2006 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

English: 2006 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Joan Jett, rock star and vegetarian, has been removed from a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade float in response to protests of the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association.  Jett also is a recognized supporter of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which is the global leader of animal rights and promoter of vegetarian diets.  This organization has become outspoken in its condemnation of factory farms and ranches.

Joan Jett is not the first PETA supporter to performed on floats in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Others have done so  without controversy, including Lea Michele (“Glee,”) Alan Cumming and Carrie Underwood.  However, in recent years, the meat and factory farming industries have found themselves under increased scrutiny about farming and ranching practices that harm the environment and result in cruelty to animals.  These criticisms have included raising animals in pens, which cause disease and death from lying in excrement and waste, using antibiotics to control bacterial infections in animals that result from unhealthy penning, excess use of freshwater supply needed for farm animals and the increased carbon footprint attributable to ranching.  These criticisms leave states, such as South Dakota, particularly vulnerable due to their heavy reliance on agriculture and livestock production.  This industry is the heat of their economy.

Joan Jett in New York City's Union Square. Pho...

Joan Jett in New York City’s Union Square. Photographer’s post about event. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PETA Senior Vice President, Dan Mathews, stated that the unprovoked reaction by the ranchers brings light to the efforts of PETA and the support of celebrities such as Joan Jett.  He acknowledged that the :meat trade can’t stand any scrutiny of its cruelty.”[1]

Released into the public domain by PETA.

Released into the public domain PETA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia

The promoters of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade have accommodated the protesters and Joan Jett.  Jet and her band, the Blackhearts, are switching to another float, yet to be named.

Thanksgiving Day is a very important holiday in the United States, dating back to the arrival of Pilgrims in the new world.  It traditionally has been characterized by a celebration of the harvest, with turkey— a bird native to North America[2], the centerpiece of the observance of the first event at Plymouth Plantation in 1621 in which the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians celebrated the first harvest of the colony.[3]  One can only imagine the differences these two groups had to set aside to have this party!   Since 1924, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has been integral to the winter holiday season, marking both the celebration of Thanksgiving, as well as officially ushering in the Christmas season.

Our upcoming winter holiday season is an opportune time for the green movement to promote its call for sustainability and environmental protection.  It is important to the green movement that South Dakota ranchers reacted as they did, without provocation, to the plan for Joan Jett and her band to perform on their state float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, particularly in light of the significance of setting aside any differences on this day and focusing on being thankful for life, the earth and its bounty.

Perhaps our green movement is making some people uncomfortable and sparking feelings of guilty about harmful practices that negatively impact the environment.  Hopefully, we all can come together, explore healthy ways to farm and ranch that will protect the earth and its inhabitants.  To do so is to live green, be green.

Sources for this article:

[1]  http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/16/us/joan-jett-macys-parade-float/index.html
[2] http://birding.about.com/od/Bird-Trivia/a/Wild-Turkey-History.htm
[3] http://www.ushistory.org/us/3b.asp
[4] http://livegreenbegreen.com/2013/03/16/looking-to-pope-francis-to-end-factory-farming/

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Happy Food Day– Join The Movement For Sustainability And Good Health

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Happy Food Day!  Today marks the annual celebration of Food Day where we recognize the movement for healthy, affordable and sustainable food.  In honor of this most important day, there will be more than 4,500 events in all 50 states to focus on the strides we have made in our efforts to improve our food system and to bring awareness to the need for additional work that still needs to be done to ensure that we have healthy and sustainable diets without a negative environmental impact.

Food Day as a day of celebration was created by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).  According to Michael F. Jacobson, executive director and founder of Food Day:

We hope that one of the things that comes out of Food Day is a movement that is stronger, more united, and better equipped to press for changes that make it easier to eat healthier year round . . . .  Today hundreds of thousands of Americans will add their voices to a growing campaign for food that is produced with care for consumers, the environment, and the men and women who grow, harvest and serve it.”[1]

The main purpose of Food Day is to “help people eat real.”  Food Day is a very organized and focused movement with five priorities, which are as follows:

  • To promote safe and healthy diets for all people.
  • To support sustainable and organic farms.
  • To reduce the occurrence of hunger in this country.
  • To ensure reform of factory farm practices so as to protect both farm animals and the environment.
  • To ensure fair working environments for both food and farm workers.

Many cities have Food Day events occurring today, as well as throughout the upcoming weekend.  Activities range from educational events at local schools, round-table discussions and forums hosted by civic organizations and local food festivals.  This is a great opportunity to involve the entire family in the celebration of Food Day, gathering information and planning healthier diets through better food choices.  I urge you to ditch the bag of chips and to get out and explore the choices and opportunities that Food Day has to offer.  Also, don’t forget to like Food Day on Facebook.  This page also has great ideas, contests and valuable opportunities to support this worthy cause.

We here at LGBG urge all of our readers to join in the celebration of Food Day and to support this very important movement.  To do so is to live green, be green.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O721Fvj075c&w=560&h=315]
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[1]  http://www.cspinet.org/new/201310241.html

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Food Day October 24, 2013 (beatcancer2010.wordpress.com)

 

Sean McGuire’s Eco-Friendly Recipe

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The return of football season is, as President Calvin Coolidge put it, a return to normalcy for many of us: the fantasy football leagues, the trash-talking amongst friends, the stats, and of course, what football discussion would be complete without discussing a factor that on occasion eclipses the importance of the game (especially if you are a Jets fan like myself), the tailgate. Even if you are not at the game, though, Sunday football is always an occasion to treat yourself and continue in many ways that great summer barbecue-potluck tradition.   We here at LGBG feel exactly the same way. However, despite popular belief, just because we are going big, we do not have to go against the environment. It is actually incredibly easy to make great food for Sunday football and still be eco-friendly. The eco-friendliness of one’s food depends merely on how it is prepared and how it is served. Today I am going to help walk you through making a great recipe, while still doing our duty as citizens committed to a greener world. With that said, let us get down to business so we may move  on to the more important part, eating.

Some may call me a heretic, but a great place to start to ensure an eco-friendly recipe is not to bring the grill with you to the parking lot or to turn it on at home. Simply put, burning charcoal is terrible for the environment and for those around you. A natural gas grill would be a better option for those who are environmentally conscious, but the best option is to skip it altogether. This, however, as my recipe will show, does not mean we will not have a mouth-watering dish that will be the talk of the crew (also a great release for your passive-aggressiveness against your neighbor, Steve). Everyone loves his potato salad with bacon in it; however, you know he buys it from that gourmet deli two towns over, but you are too much the man to be petty about these things. You have to beat him with your own two hands. Maybe that way your wife will stop talking about how many more vacations Steve and his family get to take. I don’t know, this is how the suburbs work right: mellow drama, hidden rivalries, and “friendships” based on convenience).

Now that we’ve eliminated the grill, we still need to figure out the specifics of serving our mouth-watering dish. The simple and common answer is to go out and buy a large number of plastic utensils and paper plates.  It may be the easy option but the momentary convenience of this option results in both wasted money, as well as a contribution to waste in our landfills (if they even reach them). The eco-friendlier, as well as cheaper option, is to merely bring your own plates and utensils. While it may mean more cleanup at the end of the day, you are doing yourself and the environment a favor.

Now we are getting to the recipe itself, but before we start cooking, we need our ingredients and if we want to eco-friendly we want them local.

In the process of buying local for Sunday football, you can benefit yourself, your community, and the environment: locally grown food tastes better, has a greater and more beneficial impact on your local economy, and reduces your carbon footprint. The longer it takes for food to reach your plate, the less nutritional value it holds for you. Food purchased at big box stores, unless noted as being locally grown, has usually been in cold storage for days.  The food you purchase at a local farmers market has typically been picked in the last twenty-four hours, and as such, has a greater nutritional value than food that has been in cold storage. This ties in with the taste factor; locally grown food tastes better. It is picked at the peak of ripeness, and you have it on your plate within a day of that. With regards to produce that has been put in cold-storage, it has most likely been picked while still green and gassed in order to make it ripe. Simply put, fresher is always better.  Another great benefit of buying local is the benefit to your local community. By buying local, you are pumping more money into your local economy which will have a greater multiplier effect than if you were to buy from a big chain store. You are supporting a local business whose entire infrastructure is based in your area, and as such, all of their expenditures take place in your local economy; this is as opposed to a big chain store whose produce comes from all over the country and through overhead sends a great deal of the money spent in these stores to areas other than the local economy.

It is also important to recognize the beneficial environmental impact that buying local provides. The ingredients of the average American meal travel 1,500 miles to reach your plate.  By switching to one locally grown meal a week, Americans could save 1.1 million barrels of oil. Overall organic local systems leave a carbon footprint equivalent to 40% of that of non-locally grown food through cutting out long transportation, as well as utilizing organic methods.  Furthermore, when you buy local, you are promoting more open space in your area. You are giving a viable economic reason to have more space, which is carbon absorbing as opposed to carbon producing high rises or commercial/industrial districts. If you don’t know where to start when looking for locally grown food or farmers markets, http://www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/ is here to help you.

Lastly, we come to the recipe, which I freely admit is not my own. You can ask the editor (my former roommate), I am the farthest thing on the spectrum from a Chef so I have turned to more capable hands.

Slow Cooker Barbecue Nachos

GDE-PasstheSushi-twoIngredients:

  • 2 chicken breasts, about 3/4 lbs.
  • 2-3 tbs chipotle sauce (found in the Hispanic food aisle near the adobo pepper in chipotle sauce – otherwise, just pulse some of those with the sauce and use as a substitute)
  • 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
  • 1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed (I store my extra in the fridge in an airtight container to throw onto salads and in other things throughout the week)
  • Tortilla chips
  • 1/2 red pepper, sliced
  • 1/2 green pepper, diced
  • 1/2 red onion, chopped
  • 1/2 – 1 cup shredded cheese of choice (just discovered a chipotle Cheddar that I’m kind of obsessed with)
  • 4 scallions, chopped, green part only
  • 1 jalapeno
  • Sour cream, guacamole, salsa

 Preparation:

Place the chicken in a slow cooker with chipotle sauce and barbecue sauce. Cover and cook on high for 3 – 4 hours, or until easily shred with a fork. Reduce heat to warm setting, shred chicken, add additional barbecue sauce if desired. Stir in the black beans.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In an oven proof skillet, or on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, arrange a single layer of chips. Top with 1/2 of the pulled chicken, peppers, onions and cheese making sure to go from edge to edge. Cover with another layer of chips and repeat with the top layer. Cover everything with cheese.

Bake for 10 – 15 minutes until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with scallions and jalapenos. If using a skillet, place a hot mat on the table and serve right from the skillet and serve with sour cream, guacamole, and salsa for dipping.

Enjoy, and remember it is you who makes this eco-friendly and you who empowers the sustainability movement through your wallet! Also, I hope the Jets beat the Bills in Week 3, and I hope the editor allows this through.

Sources:

http://passthesushi.com/slow-cooker-barbecue-nachos/

http://www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/

http://observer.com/2008/05/the-environmental-benefits-of-organic-and-local-food/

http://www.bidmc.org/AboutBIDMC/EnvironmentalInitiatives/ConserveEnergyandFuel/eatlocallygrownfood.aspx

Time Magazine Article: Deficient Bee Conversation Equals Insufficient Bee Solution

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English: Honey bees cleaning the last of the h...

English: Honey bees cleaning the last of the honey off of a comb which has been processed. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Initially, I was excited to see Time Magazine‘s August 19th issue featuring bees and the problem of colony collapse disorder, “The Plight Of The Honeybee;” [1] however, my enthusiasm quickly dissipated when I discovered that the article fails by not addressing the impact of factory farming as a major contributor to the demise of bees.

The steady disappearance of bees is a frequent topic of concern for conservationists, beekeepers and farmers, as well as green bloggers.  Our blog, Live Green Be Green, follows the subject of pollinators on a frequent basis, commenting on bees, in particular, noting that they play an important role in the maintenance of the food supply as we know it.  While it may be true (as stated in Time’s article) that the demise of bees would not destroy the food supply totally, it is important to note that this phenomenon would change the landscape of the food supply, resulting in the loss of many fruits and vegetables that we enjoy eating. [2]

Much of the attention on the causes of colony collapse disorder in this article is attributed to pesticides, viruses and fungal infections, with only casual references made to factory farming of bees.  Additionally, the comments made deal with factory farming in general, citing the increase in widespread industrialized agricultural systems that have adopted crop monocultures, which effectively “create a desert for bees,” starving them of the nectar and pollen they need to survive. [3]  Also, mention is made of a possible future with the industrialization of beekeeping culminating in fewer entities running larger operations or even the use of robotic bees to pollinate crops.  Clearly, this article ignores the problem of factory farming of bees.  Under this scenario, bees are transported from the natural locales and maintained in smaller boxes, which resemble tenements or file cabinets.  These actions subject the creatures to unnatural living conditions.  Also, the bees are forced to undergo other harmful practices, such as wing clipping of new queen bees to prevent the natural migration of these bees and their soldiers to form their own colonies, thereby reducing the honey production in the prior colony.These practices typically result in genetic manipulation of the bees and in their premature death. [4]

To learn more about the true plight of bees, we here at LGBG by PMD United encourage you to see “No More Honey,” a film documentary that  raises awareness of the practice of factory farming of bees. [5]  We remain dedicated to learning and sharing information that promotes a healthy environment for ourselves and future generations.  We feel it is mandatory that when sharing  information, we should seek the complete story.  In terms of our food supply, we feel that while it may be possible to “exist” without many of the plant species that we have come to love, it is important that we abandon harmful practices that deliberately destroy these products.  We feel that bees make our world a better place.  To protect them is to live green, be green.

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[1]  Walsh, Brian “The Plight Of The Honeybee.”  Time 19 Ap. 2013: 24-31. Print.
[2]  “Honeybee Shortage– An Impending Economic Disaster.”  http://livegreenbegreen.com/2013/05/07/honeybee-shortage-an-impending-economic-disaster 7 May, 2013.
[3]  Walsh, p. 30.
[4]  http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2011/07/13/that-s-no-storm-its-a-swarm.aspx
[5]  http://livegreenbegreen.com/2013/08/08/colony-collapse-documentary-addresses-global-destruction-of-bee-population/

Use Your Green Thumb And WWOOF For Great Travel Opportunities

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Wwoofing by the sea

Wwoofing by the sea (Photo credit: Peter Blanchard)

If you have a green thumb, need a vacation, and you are willing to work approximately 4 hours a day in exchange for room and board, WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms) may be your ticket to paradise.  WWOOF is an exchange program that started in the United Kingdom in 1971 for people at least 16 years old, who are interested in organic farming and travel.  You, the WWOOFer, pay your travel costs, but do pay any living costs, and the host farmers do not pay you a wage.  Rather, for a period of time predetermined by the WWOOFer and the host, you get hands-on experience in organic and sustainable farming, and the farm gets extra hands.

WWOOFing opportunities exist globally.  Those interested can WWOOF in the United States or abroad.  An excellent place to begin your WWOOF journey is at the website, www.wwoofinternational.org/.  This is a comprehensive site that thoroughly explains the program, requirements and rules for participation.  This site has links for both volunteers and for organic farms interested in participating in this wonderful program.  The site also includes links to specific WWOOF organizations in Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe.  This site specifically addresses any concerns one may have regarding security, VISAS, insurance requirements and even specialty farming opportunities.

WWOOF presents a great opportunity for summer vacations.  The host opportunities come in all sizes and shapes.  A review of the site shows that there even are opportunities for family participation.  What better way is there to spend a summer vacation learning something new and valuable as a family while also providing a service to the environment?  This would be a truly unforgettable vacation with an added bonus of free time to tour places of interest while making a difference in sustainable living.  This also is a great opportunity for high school and college students to enjoy unique cultural experiences during their summer vacations.

For anyone still planning a summer vacation, who is interested in learning about organic farming and who does not mind a few hours of work in exchange for room and board, WWOOF certainly should be a consideration.  With our busy lives and the constraints of urban living, we often are limited in the ability to learn many aspects of organic farming.  WWOOF links individuals interested in learning about organic farming with experts all over the world, who are more than willing to share their knowledge.  This truly is a great way to live green, be green.

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Sources for this article:

1.  www.wwoofinternational.org/
2.  http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/06/15/wwoofing.volunteer.farming/index.html